Contextualizing the History of Yoga in Geoffrey Samuel’s The Origins of Yoga and Tantra: A Review Symposium

International Journal of Hindu Studies -     

Response to Induced Relaxation During Pregnancy: Comparison of Women with High Versus Low Levels of Anxiety

Relaxation exercises have become a standard intervention for individuals with anxiety disorders but little is known about their potential for anxiety relief during pregnancy. The purpose of this study was to examine psychoendocrine (i) baseline differences and (ii) changes after a standardized relaxation period in pregnant women with high versus low levels of anxiety. Thirty-nine third-trimester high and low anxious pregnant women performed active or passive relaxation while levels of anxiety, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and sympathetic-adrenal-medullary (SAM) system activity were assessed before and after the relaxation period. In women with high levels of trait anxiety, state anxiety (F(1,36)?=?8.3, p?=?.007) and negative affect (F(1,36)?=?7.99, p?=?.008) as well as ACTH (F(1,35)?=?9.24, p?=?.002) remained elevated over the entire course of the experimental procedure, the last indicating increased HPA axis activity. In addition, norepinephrine showed a constricted decrease of relaxation reflecting lower response of the SAM-system (F(1,37)?=?4.41, p?=?.043). Although relaxation exercises have become a standard intervention for individuals with anxiety, pregnant women with high levels of trait anxiety benefited less than women with low levels from a single standardized relaxation period.     

Interactions of team mental models and monitoring behaviors predict team performance in simulated anesthesia inductions

In the present study, we investigated how two team mental model properties (similarity vs. accuracy) and two forms of monitoring behavior (team vs. systems) interacted to predict team performance in anesthesia. In particular, we were interested in whether the relationship between monitoring behavior and team performance was moderated by team mental model properties. Thirty-one two-person teams consisting of anesthesia resident and anesthesia nurse were videotaped during a simulated anesthesia induction of general anesthesia. Team mental models were assessed with a newly developed measurement tool based on the concept-mapping technique. Monitoring behavior was coded by two organizational psychologists using a structured observation system. Team performance was rated by two expert anesthetists using a performance-checklist. Moderated multiple regression analysis revealed that team mental model similarity moderated the relationship between team monitoring and performance; a higher level of team monitoring in the absence of a similar team mental model had a negative effect on performance. Furthermore, team mental model similarity and accuracy interacted to predict team performance. Our findings provide new insights on factors influencing the relationship between team processes and team performance in health care. When investigating the effectiveness of a specific team coordination behavior, team cognition has to be taken into account. This represents a necessary and compelling extension of the popular process-outcome relationship on which previous teamwork research in health care has focused. Moreover, the current study adds further external validity to the concept of team mental models by highlighting its usefulness in health care.     

Average group behavior does not represent individual behavior in classical conditioning of the honeybee

Conditioned behavior as observed during classical conditioning in a group of identically treated animals provides insights into the physiological process of learning and memory formation. However, several studies in vertebrates found a remarkable difference between the group-average behavioral performance and the behavioral characteristics of individual animals. Here, we analyzed a large number of data (1640 animals) on olfactory conditioning in the honeybee (Apis mellifera). The data acquired during absolute and differential classical conditioning differed with respect to the number of conditioning trials, the conditioned odors, the intertrial intervals, and the time of retention tests. We further investigated data in which animals were tested for spontaneous recovery from extinction. In all data sets we found that the gradually increasing group-average learning curve did not adequately represent the behavior of individual animals. Individual behavior was characterized by a rapid and stable acquisition of the conditioned response (CR), as well as by a rapid and stable cessation of the CR following unrewarded stimuli. In addition, we present and evaluate different model hypotheses on how honeybees form associations during classical conditioning by implementing a gradual learning process on the one hand and an all-or-none learning process on the other hand. In summary, our findings advise that individual behavior should be recognized as a meaningful predictor for the internal state of a honeybee--irrespective of the group-average behavioral performance.     

Feasibility of telephone-based cognitive behavioral therapy targeting major depression among urban dwelling African-American people with co-occurring HIV

Given the burden of depression among those with HIV, and the impact of HIV on urban minority communities there is an urgent need to assess innovative treatment interventions that not only treat depression but do so in a way that allows for increased access to mental health care. This single site, uncontrolled, pilot study sought to determine the feasibility and depression outcomes of an 11-session telephone-based cognitive behavioral therapy intervention delivered over 14 weeks targeting low-income, urban-dwelling, HIV-infected African-American people with major depression. The diagnosis of major depression was made using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview. The primary outcome was the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) and the secondary outcome was the Quick Inventory of Depression Symptomatology-Self Report (QIDS-SR). Feasibility and satisfaction were also assessed. Assessments occurred at baseline, midpoint and at study conclusion (14 weeks). Fifteen people were screened for the study. Six HIV-infected, low-income, African-American people individuals (five females and one male) were eligible and participated in the study. All patients finished the study. On average, participants completed nine sessions. The sessions lasted for an average of 48 min (SD = 11.5). Compared to mean HAM-D score at baseline (HAM-D = 22.8 (SD = 3.1), the mean HAM-D score was significantly reduced at study conclusion (HAM-D = 9.8 (SD = 7.4); (t (5) = 4.6, p = 0.006); (Cohen d = 1.9)). Compared to the mean QIDS-SR score at baseline (QIDS-SR = 15.5 (SD = 4.2) the mean QIDS score was significantly reduced at study conclusion (QIDS = 7.0 (SD = 5.4);(t (5) = 3.2, p = 0.02); (Cohen d = 1.3)).The mean satisfaction scores across all participants at post-treatment was 5.7 (SD = 0.3) with of a maximum score of 6. Telephone-based CBT can be delivered to low-income, urban-dwelling ethnic minority HIV-infected people resulting in significant reductions in depression symptoms with high satisfaction. The efficacy of this intervention will be assessed in a planned randomized control trial.     

Publics in the Making: Mediating Different Methods of Engagement and the Publics These Construct

The potential for public engagement to democratise science has come under increasing scrutiny amid concerns that conflicting motivations have led to confusion about what engagement means to those who mediate science and publics. This raises important yet relatively unexplored questions regarding how publics are constituted by different forms of engagement used by intermediary scholars and other actors. It is possible to identify at least two possible ‘rationalities of mediation’ that mobilise different versions of the public and the roles they are assumed to play, as ‘citizens’ or ‘users’, in discussions around technology. However, combinations of rationalities are found in practice and these have significant implications for the ‘new’ scientific democracy.     

The DRC model of visual word recognition and reading aloud: An extension to German

The dual-route cascaded (DRC) model of word recognition and reading aloud was implemented in German. In this paper, we describe crosslinguistic differences and similarities between the German and the English DRC. The German DRC was evaluated with respect to its ability to correctly pronounce all German monosyllabic words and to simulate the loan word (regularity) effect. Furthermore, we obtained DRC predictions concerning a number of benchmark effects previously investigated in English, namely effects of word frequency, word length, and neighbourhood size.     

The meaning and suitability of various effect sizes for structured Rater x Ratee designs

Four types of analysis are commonly applied to data from structured Rater x Ratee designs. These types are characterized by the unit of analysis, which is either raters or ratees, and by the design used, which is either between-units or within-unit design. The 4 types of analysis are quite different, and therefore they give rise to effect sizes that differ in their substantive interpretations. In most cases, effect sizes based on between-ratee analysis have the least ambiguous meaning and will best serve the aims of meta-analysts and primary researchers. Effect sizes that arise from within-unit designs confound the strength of an effect with its homogeneity. Nonetheless, the authors identify how a range of effect-size types such as these serve the aims of meta-analysis appropriately.     

Diurnal mood variation in major depressive disorder

Depression disturbs mood, but a clear picture of diurnal mood rhythms in depression has yet to emerge. This study examined variations in positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA), two dimensions of mood that generate diurnal patterns among healthy individuals. Repeated measurements of NA and PA in daily life were obtained over 6 days from 47 depressed outpatients and 39 healthy individuals using the Experience Sampling Method. Relative to healthy individuals, depressed individuals exhibited increasing PA levels during the day with a later acrophase. In contrast, depressed persons' NA exhibited a more pronounced diurnal rhythm and was more variable from moment to moment than healthy individuals'. Ambulatory mood measurements in depression suggest distinct diurnal disturbances of positive and negative affect.     

Visual phonology: The effects of orthographic consistency on different auditory word recognition tasks

In this study, we investigated orthographic influences on spoken word recognition. The degree of spelling inconsistency was manipulated while rime phonology was held constant. Inconsistent words with subdominant spellings were processed more slowly than inconsistent words with dominant spellings. This graded consistency effect was obtained in three experiments. However, the effect was strongest in lexical decision, intermediate in rime detection, and weakest in auditory naming. We conclude that (1) orthographic consistency effects are not artifacts of phonological, phonetic, or phonotactic properties of the stimulus material; (2) orthographic effects can be found even when the error rate is extremely low, which rules out the possibility that they result from strategies used to reduce task difficulty; and (3) orthographic effects are not restricted to lexical decision. However, they are stronger in lexical decision than in other tasks. Overall, the study shows that learning about orthography alters the way we process spoken language.